Having a baby is something you wait for, plan for and even take classes for when you are a first-time mom.  BUT, what a lot of people forget about is what happens after you have the baby. There is a whole other side to giving birth that comes after your new bundle arrives.

In addition to preparing for the baby’s arrival, packing your hospital bag, dad’s hospital bag and baby’s hospital bag, you need to be prepared for taking care of yourself when you come home from the hospital.

Right after you have your baby, the hospital will have all the things you will need, and you will have people there to help you 24/7.  Once you get home, you will just have your husband and whatever you have prepared for yourself.

Since having two kids of my own, I have found there are certain items I need at home and as it turns out, the post-partum care kit needed is super cheap!  Just make sure you set one up because you are going to need to help everything heal and be as pain-free as possible.

There will be so many things going on, like you trying to get some sleep.  The last thing you want to worry about is going to the store because you forgot to set up your postpartum care kit.

There are tons of items out there you could put together for your postpartum care kit, but I am going to give you the essentials you need to survive.

Post-partum Survival Kit on a Budget:

Peri bottle

This will be your new best friend!  Instead of wiping yourself after going to the bathroom, you will use this to clean things.  It is also extremely soothing after you have pushed a human out of your vagina. Things are so swollen and angry down there, this really helps to calm things down.

Cost:  $0. The hospital will provide you with this.

Hand towels/washcloths

You are not going to be able to wipe yourself with toilet paper for a while.  After you use the peri bottle, you are going to be wet. The best thing I have found is just to use a washcloth or hand towel to pat yourself dry afterward.  There will be blood too so don’t use towels you don’t want getting dirty.

Cost:  $0 if you use ones you already have.

Optional cost:  $10 If you want to buy a cheap pack of washcloths, these are a good buy.

Dermoplast spray

This is an awesome numbing spray for your recently destroyed vagina.  It is cooling and numbing to soothe everything. If you have stitches, it will also take away any discomfort associated with them.  Sometimes they can kind of “pull” pending on how you move and the spray will take away that feeling.

Cost:  $0. The hospital will provide you with this.  If you don’t see it right after you have your baby, ask for it.

Stool softener

After you have pushed an entire human out of your body, pooping is going to be a whole other ballgame.  Especially if you ended up with hemorrhoids. You are going to want your stool to be as soft as possible so it just comes out and you don’t have to push at all.

Dulcolax is the best stool softener.  The hospital will provide you with this while you are there, but definitely, have a bottle of this for when you get home.

Cost:  $9 

Icepacks

Aaaahhh….so refreshing.  Ice packs are awesome after a vaginal delivery.  You really should be okay after 24-48 hours of ice pack use.  If you decide you need more, just ask the hospital to load you up with more.  Even if you don’t use them for you, just keep them in case of kid accidents down the road you may need them for.

Cost:  $0. The hospital will provide you with these.  If they don’t, just check the cupboards in your room.  It is very likely they have a supply in your room.

Optional cost:  $30. If you want to make sure you have ice packs at home ready and waiting for you, these are pretty awesome.

Sanitary pads

You are going to be bleeding after giving birth.  Some people recommend Depends adult diapers. I didn’t find those to be necessary.  Just a simple overnight absorbency pad was sufficient. You will be changing these often enough, it shouldn’t be an issue.

Start with one pack of these, but I typically end up needing two.

Cost:  $9 . These are my favorite.

Underwear

The hospital will have the awesome mesh underwear that is amazing to have huge pads and ice packs in.  I admittedly will continue to wear these at home for like a week. After that initial week, I really just want to be back in normal underwear.  

Remember, you will still be bleeding so the last thing you want to worry about is ruining your cute underwear.  I ended up buying some boy short underwear that I didn’t care about ruining, they fit my larger sized butt after growing a baby and were styled correctly to hold large pads.

I can’t recommend having postpartum specific underwear enough.  You will not regret doing this.

Cost:  $15. These are THE BEST.

Nursing pads

Whether you are nursing or not, your body will produce milk and it will leak.  Nursing pads are a necessity. I like the disposable ones because I’m not doing laundry on maternity leave.

Cost:  $4.50. These are comfortable and work really well.

Basket

Once you have all of your items, you will need someplace to keep them.  I had a few extra baskets at my house so I just used one of them and set it by the toilet.  You could also use an empty diaper or wipes box (you should have plenty of those). You don’t have to buy anything new just for this purpose.

Cost:  $0

Optional cost:  $9. If you want to buy something new, this is a pretty cute option!

If you are a first-time mom approaching your postpartum time at home, you need to put together this survival kit.  These are the basic essentials you will need to take care of yourself. The awesome thing about most of this stuff is it is either free or very low cost.  

Every person is different, so you may find you require different items from me, but this will be a great place to start for you.

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Do you have any additional items you recommend for postpartum survival?

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